A doe discovers a new trail camera on a rainy morning in January. (Photo by Tom Cross)
In a deer season that lasted 135 days, Ohio hunters tagged over 203,300 deer for the 2022-23 season. Of that number 92,000 plus were taken by hunters using bow and arrow or crossbows. That’s up over 3 percent, or 6,300 deer, above last year. Although the latest numbers from ODNR are dated January 17, there won’t be a handful of deer taken between now and the season closing on February 5 as most hunters have tagged out, burnt out, frozen out, or just plain thrown in the towel for the remainder of the season.
Statewide, this past muzzleloader season, Ohio hunters tagged 13,617 deer, up nearly 20 percent from last year’s muzzleloader season.
Locally Adams County muzzleloader hunters bagged 229, that’s up about 40 deer from the last couple of seasons. The total take of deer this past season in Adams County stands at 3,088 as on January 17, and I don’t expect much of a change between now and the end of season. That’s pretty much on par with last year when Adams County hunters harvested 3,138 deer.
Brown County hunters have taken a total of 2,508 deer so far, just 15 deer higher than last year. Highland County has tagged in 2,885 deer, up just a wee bit. Pike County with 2,048 deer checked so far, up nearly two hundred deer. Scioto County hunters have checked in 2,400, up nearly 280 deer over last years season.
On January 11, the eight member Ohio Wildlife Council heard proposals on the small game hunting season for 2023-2024. A press release from ODNR stated, “No changes were proposed for daily and season limits. Proposals on whitetail deer hunting will be heard on Feb. 8”. Basically there are no changes planned for the fall hunting season. I still expect a little tweaking in deer regulations when they come out taking into consideration that Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been documented in five Ohio counties and EHD took a toll on deer locally.
Last year the Ohio Division of Wildlife (DOW) stocked over 52 million fish into Ohio’s waterways. Everything from muskies to trout were stocked at 203 locations during the 2022 fishing season. In all, 11 species of fish including channel and blue catfish, saugeye, hybrid stripers, walleye, yellow perch, rainbow and brown trout, steelhead, and bluegills were stocked. The state hatcheries had a good year with surplus walleye, saugeye and yellow perch according to DOW. The Division operates six state fish hatcheries, including one locally in Pike County, the Kinkaid Hatchery which raises muskie and trout.
Most of Ohio’s fish populations are self-sustaining through natural reproduction, however stocking expand fishing opportunities in water that do not support some fish species.
To give you some idea as to the numbers, over 30 million walleye and saugeye fry were stocked, over four million yellow perch fry and 2.5 million hybrid striped bass were stocked which include locally some sections of the Ohio River. Nearly 270,000 blue and channel catfish, over 714,000 trout and steelhead. Ohio state fish hatcheries are open to the public and if you’re a fishing person, are pretty fascinating places to visit.
You still have time to go online at https://ohio.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/ and have your say about what you’d like to see more of in Ohio outdoors and state parks. The survey closes January 31. It is part of the “Ohio’s State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan” (SCORP). When I took the survey my primary answer for all the activities I or my wife participated in was “Experience Nature/Quiet Time/Serenity”. And isn’t that really what its all about?
Coming up Jan. 28, Sportsmen Night Out at the Hillsboro Baptist Church.
